Why the **** did you start collecting vintage memorabilia????

[mr2686]

1972 6th grade (yeah I'm old Ben) my buddies and I used to get our Dodger programs signed at the games. Always great fun to gain status based on who we got. I was the talk of the lunch room for a couple of weeks when I got Cesar Cedeno (well, until he killed a prostitute, but that's another story), and also the butt of jokes when I got Alston and Gilliam (both currently matted and framed on my wall...so take that you know-it-all 6th graders).
After that, High School and girls happened and I didn't seriously start collecting until July 31,1988 when a buddy from work talked me in to going to the mall to see a card show with Duke Snider as the guest. I noticed my buddy had a HOF book which I really liked so I ran down to the book store and found a hardback copy and had Duke sign it along with a photo and ball. That started a long road of getting HOF sigs and going to shows.
Here's the picture I got that day, and the reason I remember that date so well.

[David Atkatz]

In the summer of 1961 I was a 10-year-old Bronx boy, and, like most everyone else in New York, I became totally caught up in the Mantle/Maris home run chase. An avid reader, I read everything I could find about Mantle--"The Mickey Mantle Story," for example--and that led me to start reading about that Ruth guy he was chasing, and that led to Gehrig and the 1920s teams. I was totally enthralled.
I'd always had the autograph bug--I began to write to Yankees at the Stadium, and at their homes in the off-season. When I became a bit older, I'd go to the Stadium with friends and hang out at the players' entrance and get my yearbooks signed. My Bronx neighborhood got a little bigger when I entered Junior High School, and met kids who came from neighboring Elementary schools. One of those kids was Harvey Meiselman, and he showed me his baseball autograph collection. He had check cuts of J. Franklin Baker (Man, did his handwriting look old!) and checks of Ty Cobb, and Mickey Cochrane, and Eppa Rixey, and... and Babe Ruth! Amazing! I learned from him about the "serious" collectors, who tracked down and wrote to old players, and players' families, and I began to do the same. Soon I had Cobb checks, and Cochrane checks, etc., but I was too late for a Ruth check. So I traded a collector in Tennessee ten Cobb checks for a Ruth check. (There were mimeographed newsletters that we all subscribed to, which, among other things, listed collectors' names and addresses. Everything was done through the mail.) I was in heaven when it came. (May seem like a bad deal now, but I got those Cobb checks for free, so, what the hell.)
I began tracking down people who knew the old Yankees, and sometimes I was spectacularly successful. I obtained a signed and inscribed Gehrig photo, for example, from the daughter of a Gehrig family friend. And all of this--except for postage, envelopes, and index cards--was free! (Perfect for a poor boy from the Bronx.)
When I went away to college in 1968 I put it all away. I had other things on my mind. Sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll. And, oh yeah, becoming a physicist. But in 1990, having settled down (I was a physicist, and a husband, and a dad) I took it all up again.

[Scott Garner]

Great stories everyone! Ben, thanks for starting this thread.

Like most boys that played Little League, I began collecting baseball cards in 1967 when I was 9. (Yes Ben, I'm older than Mike! LOL). Since I grew up in the shadows of Angels Stadium, I liked cards of my hometown team the California Angels. Angels All-Star shortstop Jim Fregosi was my favorite position player (I always wore uniform # 11 for this reason).

In 1972, I was crushed when the Angels traded Fregosi to the Mets for who ironically would become my all-time favorite player Nolan Ryan and a host of other players including Leroy Stanton and Don Rose.

I was fortunate to catch one of Nolan's early games in 1972 with the Angels from directly behind home plate. Keep in mind that the early to mid 1970's Angels teams were pretty terrible and Ryan was a breath of fresh air. The sound of one of his fastballs hitting the catcher's mitt was awesome- WHACK!! The fact that he was also wild was also cool because it led to a lot of drama as he was developing some semblance of control with the help of catcher Jeff Torborg and pitching coach Tom Morgan. Torborg had caught Koufax and was instrumental in helping Nolan with the pitching mechanics required to be successful in the majors. I made it my mission to catch as many Ryan pitched games as possible, because that was the best show in town.

It dawned on me in 1972 that saving tickets to games that Nolan pitched would be fun as each ticket represented a link with a hard date to a specific event. In addition to my ticket, I also picked up other tickets on the ground after the game. I suppose this is the exact moment that I became a memorabilia collector. I ended up trading tickets with other collectors that I found that did the same (not many in 1972). Through word of mouth, I eventually was able to locate other collectors in other baseball cities that collected tickets and would trade with them as well. As others on this thread have mentioned, $$ did not change hands at this point, only trading. My ticket collecting theme expanded from only Ryan tickets to also no-hitter tickets (as well as a few other themes that I have since abandoned).

Since 1972 I have collected tickets to every Ryan game (807 regular season games) that he ever pitched in regardless of outcome (win, loss or no-decision). As of today I am only 73 ticket dates away from completing this theme. It's been a long road and a lot of fun.

My no-hitter ticket collection currently stands at about 187 games dating back to 1901, BTW. Both of these are the largest of their kind in the hobby.

Here is a photo of my full ticket to Nolan's 1st game and 1st win with the Angels in 1972. Ironically it was Nolan's 30th career win (his uniform number on the Angels) and notched his 500th career strikeout (Charlie Manuel).

The best part of all this is the network of friends that I have made along the way. To me, this is really what the hobby is all about.

[mr2686]

What Scott says is 100 percent true...he is old!

[Bumpus Jones]

Great stuff Scott! Or Great Scott stuff

[BigJJ]

Great stories.

Scott that is incredible.

[billyb]

Ben, great thread.

Ben, I also am from Detroit, and as far back as I can remember, I have been a baseball fan. Being near vintage myself (born in '47), I have had the pleasure of watching Mantle and Hodges, and many of the players from the mid 50s, in their hey days. In about 1954 or 55, I got my first baseball cards. My fondest memory was when my dad brought home a whole box of penny wax packs. I sat on our back porch and slowly opened every one of them. Did I have a pile of gum.
My dad took me my first Tiger game, at about the age of 8, I remember Roy Sievers hitting a late inning two run homer and the Senators beat the Tigers 4-3.
He also took me to another game, Tigers won 14-1 over the White Sox, our seats were by the bullpen, which was by the sidelines then. I heckled every one of those White Sox relievers that were warming up. Them poor guys take a lot of abuse. In that game I got to see a little known player, named Coot Veal, hit his only major league home run. He tucked the home run ball about a foot over the left field fence just inside the foul line. A monster drive...lol
I lived and breathed baseball. We lived with my grandparents then, and my grandfather used to get mad at me for constantly throwing a rubber ball against the garage. Finally they took the garage down, but my grandfather always teased me saying I knocked it down.
The cards kept piling up, I would create my own teams, dealing out all the cards, by positions , I would have eight to ten teams, and then I created my own baseball games. For hours I would play the game, keeping stats, leaders, I knew every stat for every ballplayer of the latter 50s and early 60s.
That continued until I got my drivers license, then, at that age, other things attracted my attention. Usually it wore short skirts.
Then military service was fulfilled and when I returned after a three year absence, my dad remodeled our house, and the cards, which were in the attic, were gone. Thrown out by my parents, but at that time, I knew nothing about values of baseball cards, so I thought nothing of it until in 1984, while working with the Detroit PD, I got a call to a baseball card shop. They had some sets of cards stolen and they had an idea of who did it. I was able to retrieve almost all the cards taken and the owner of the shop gave me a 1984 Topps and Fleer sets of cards. They then invited me to a card show. I went to my first show, and I was off and running again and bought up every garage sale, yard sale, private collections I could. But the 1990s soured me again, but I had my Mantle autographed Mantle mitt, Kaline and Killebrew signed balls, plus other collectible including a handful of prewar cards I displayed telling the story of baseball collecting.
Until recently, I was a non collector, but when my cousin approached me about her husband's family inheriting a Babe Ruth photo collection, and they were looking for some help, I jumped in with both feet. I approached that dealer who gave me the 1984 Topps set some years ago, and he knew very little of Press photos, so that led me to Net54. Armed with just a couple of scans, which I posted here, I learned a lot more about Press Photos, and I fell in love with the idea of collecting press photos myself.
THE WHY, because I can see the spirit of the ballplayer in these photos. The photos provide some history of each ballplayer.
Many of you, here on Net54, has either helped directly or indirectly, as I have been following every post regarding these photos, and reading many older posts. For this, I thank everyone on this board for what you knowingly or unknowingly, have done for me. I am addicted to Press photos and if there is a definitive time when I started collecting vintage memorabilia, it was last December when I made that first post filled with questions. So it is your fault....lol
I really enjoy being a small part of this elite preservation of baseball memorabilia family, so once again to you all, Thank You
Move over Ben, another kid from Detroit is on the same block.....lol Just kidding, not in your league......not yet anyways.

Billyb

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by Scott Garner

I was fortunate to catch one of Nolan's early games in 1972 with the Angels from directly behind home plate. Keep in mind that the early to mid 1970's Angels teams were pretty terrible and Ryan was a breath of fresh air. The sound of one of his fastballs hitting the catcher's mitt was awesome- WHACK!!

Scott, I experienced the same many many times from behind the plate in Arlington - a real thrill as most stadiums are not set up that way. I will post some pics from that vantage point. I lived in Houston when Carlton and Ryan were racing to catch Walter Johnson's record. I think that is when he became my favorite player.

What a capper to luckily be at his 7th no-hitter! That sports moment can never be topped for me.

[Scott Garner]

Mike, Chris, Jon and Scott,
Thanks very much for the nice words.

Scott, I wish I was in Houston during Carlton and Ryan's assault of Walter's 3508 K record. That must have been fun. To catch Ryan's 7th no-hitter must have been unbelievable to have seen in person! As many ML baseball games that I have attended in my lifetime, I ironically have never seen a no-hitter or perfect game in person. Weird!

I'd love to hear responses from other collectors. I think this thread is a terrific idea!

[Runscott]

The battle between Carlton and Ryan was thrilling. I was at a game before Ryan caught Johnson - Bill Virdon left him in to get shelled, but he couldn't get the last couple of K's. Carlton and Ryan were both very strong that year - it was impossible to foresee that Carlton's career would end so much earlier. I have an Astros program from 1982 with a great Walter Johnson cover with an insert of Ryan. I would love to frame it with signatures of both.

The no-hitter was oddly not that great until the final pitch. I had been to a game with the Blue Jays where Ryan lost a no-hitter with one out in the 9th - I was on pins and needles that night. So when he actually did it, I wasn't prepared to believe it until the players rushed him on the mound. I have a picture of me and my friends in front of the outfield scoreboard, but it's so blurry that you can't read anything.

My hat's off to you - the best Ryan collector out there!

[Forever Young]

Originally Posted by mr2686

1972 6th grade (yeah I'm old Ben) my buddies and I used to get our Dodger programs signed at the games. Always great fun to gain status based on who we got. I was the talk of the lunch room for a couple of weeks when I got Cesar Cedeno (well, until he killed a prostitute, but that's another story), and also the butt of jokes when I got Alston and Gilliam (both currently matted and framed on my wall...so take that you know-it-all 6th graders).
After that, High School and girls happened and I didn't seriously start collecting until July 31,1988 when a buddy from work talked me in to going to the mall to see a card show with Duke Snider as the guest. I noticed my buddy had a HOF book which I really liked so I ran down to the book store and found a hardback copy and had Duke sign it along with a photo and ball. That started a long road of getting HOF sigs and going to shows.
Here's the picture I got that day, and the reason I remember that date so well.

I was able to add to my childhood memories with a couple items. I love when I can add things that are "priceless" for 3 figures.

These are the original painting/ pencil art used for the numbered lithographs you see.

[mr2686]

Great additions Ben...and nice resurrection of an old thread.

[Forever Young]

Originally Posted by mr2686

Great additions Ben...and nice resurrection of an old thread.

Thanks! I loved reading these again. Some great collectors shared their experiences. I would love to hear more.

[ooo-ribay]

I have been Giants fan ever since my Dad took me to a Reds/Giants game at old Crosley Field in the mid-60s. I never had one piece of memorabilia until my sister gave me a signed Will Clark “Field of Dreams” type plaque for Christmas 1992. I thought, “This is pretty cool.” I started picking up pieces from SCD and then auctions. It all traces back to the Clark plaque.

[71buc]

Awsome pick ups and I am glad you revived this thread Ben. The psychology of the topic interests me greatly. I collect primarily the 1971 Pirates. I grew up in the military in a family where Spanish was spoken. My mother was Mexican and her friends were all Mexican, Panamanian, Puerto Rican, Chilean, Venezuelan, and Dominican. Our home was a nexus of culture, food, and ethnicity. In1971 I was eight and realized what was occurring in my home was not necessarily happening in my friends homes. My father was blonde and blue eyed and from Pennsylvania. He was and remains a passionate Bucs fan. The 1971 Pirates reflected what was happening in my home at that time. At eight I fell in love with baseball because of that team and I learned from watching them that it was alright, if not a bit cool, to be different. As they say it is best to stay with who brought you to the dance so I have remained loyal to Roberto, Willie, Dock, Scoop, and Digger. Anyone know where I might locate a September 1, 1971 Pittsburgh Pirate ticket?